PULLOXHILL
Polochessele (xi cent.); Pullokeshull (xii, xiii, xiv
cents.).
The parish of Pulloxhill, which contains the village
of the same name and part of the hamlet of Greenfield, has an area of 1,627 acres, of which 510¼
consist of arable land, 953 of permanent grass, and
14 of woods and plantations. (fn. 1) The soil, which is of
strong clay with a subsoil of clay, produces wheat,
barley, beans and peas; the country is divided into
fields of moderate size, the hedgerows often including
rows of fine elms.
The village, which is surrounded by small orchards
and gardens, is grouped round the main street which
follows the line of a broad ridge of land running in
a south-westerly direction to a point about 342 ft.
above sea-level, on which the church is placed.
Several roads diverge from the village, connecting it
with Greenfield in the west, Higham Bury in the
south, and Kitchen End Farm in the east. The highest
part of the parish is Higham Bury where it reaches
362 ft. above the ordnance datum, the lowest part
being near Kitchen End which lies 187 ft. above the
same datum. The village is placed on a slight
elevation, with lower lying ground surrounding it,
with a fall to the north where Upbury Moat is
situated—the site of the former manor of Beeches and
Upbury. At Greenfield is a mill, the successor
probably of that held by Woburn Abbey of Dunstable.
At present the village is lighted by electricity generated
by a dynamo attached to the steam engine of the mill.
The inhabitants of Pulloxhill made complaint in
1636 that several assessments for ship-money had
lately been laid upon them by the then late and present
sheriffs of the county, and that it grieved them all
the more sorely because they had paid their contribution with so much loyalty. The Privy Council,
to whom the complaint was made, sent it to the
sheriffs of Bedfordshire for redress. (fn. 2)
In 1680 gold quartz was discovered at Pulloxhill,
which was at once taken into the king's hands as
royal mine, but it was found on working it that the
gold did not repay the cost of separation, as it consisted merely of flakes of mica in drifted stones; the
mine was therefore abandoned, but a field called Gold
Close, in which the mine was situated, still exists. (fn. 3)
Among the place-names found in this parish are
lands called Goldston after their owner, Thomas
Goldston mentioned in 1553; (fn. 4) Collis Close, Sampshill Croft, and Cadman Stockinge occur in 1601; (fn. 5)
Halcroft, Burne Close, Baynard Meade, and Buniuns'
Hill are mentioned in an inquisition of 1609; (fn. 6) the
last probably denotes land which originally was included in the fee held by the Buniun family in the
thirteenth century.
The Inclosure Act for this parish was passed in
1809 with that of Flitton cum Silsoe, (fn. 7) it is private
and has not been printed, but a copy is kept at the
West Park Estate office at Ampthill.
Manors
At the date of the Domesday Survey
the manor of Pulloxhill was held under
Nigel de Albini by Roger and Ruallon.
It was assessed at 10 hides and had been held by eight
sokemen in King Edward's time. (fn. 8) The overlordship
remained vested in the barony of Cainhoe, but part of
the lands were acquired by Dunstable Priory, and
some by Woburn Abbey, the latter also holding land
of Dunstable Priory. (fn. 9) There is no mention of the
abbey's estate until the beginning of the thirteenth
century when it possessed a small property in the parish
of Pulloxhill, which was gradually enlarged by various
grants and became known as the manors of PULLOXHILL and GREENFIELD. It was taken into the
king's hand at the Dissolution and annexed to the
Honor of Ampthill, and afterwards granted out to
various people.
In 1227 Henry Buniun conveyed 8 acres of land
to Woburn Abbey, (fn. 10) and in 1235, 33 acres more
were confirmed to the Abbey by Godfrey de Luvholt
and Mabel his wife, the heiress of Letitia, who had
formerly given this land to the abbey. (fn. 11) These
lands were probably acquired from Dunstable
Priory, and the abbey of Woburn also held land
under the priory, for it paid an annual rent of 26s.
in 1234 to the priory for a mill in Greenfield, (fn. 12) and
in 1286, after the death of
Aimery of St. Amand, Woburn
Abbey contributed 16s. towards the 32s. paid by Dunstable Priory to his executors. (fn. 13)
In 1535 Dunstable Priory received from Woburn Abbey
25s. for lands which the latter
held in Greenfield, (fn. 14) and 5s.
for those it held in Pulloxhill,
while the mill in Greenfield
was rented at 20s. per annum. (fn. 15)
In 1291 the value of the
abbey's estates in Pulloxhill
was £7 2s. 5d., (fn. 16) and it was again estimated at that
figure in 1337. (fn. 17) In 1302 the abbey held two hides, (fn. 18)
and the estate was no larger in 1346 (fn. 19) and 1428. (fn. 20)
In 1330 the abbey claimed sac and soc in Pulloxhill. (fn. 21)
At the time of the Dissolution the manors of Pulloxhill and Greenfield were jointly valued at
£38 18s. 7d. (fn. 22)
Woburn Abbey. Azure three bars wavy argent.
After the Dissolution the manors were taken into
the king's hand and were leased out to Roger Lee
in 1539. (fn. 23) In the same year Thomas Norton, by
a false statement, acquired possession of the premises, (fn. 24)
and the matter came up for settlement before the
Privy Council, by whom Norton was fined for misrepresentation. (fn. 25) In 1547 Sir William Pagett was
granted Pulloxhill Grange, (fn. 26) and in the following
year, an agreement being come to with Sir Thomas
Pamer, (fn. 27) who had a grant of the site of the manor,
the latter entered into possession of the property. (fn. 28)
On his attainder in 1553 for his adherence to Lady
Jane Grey the grange was granted by Queen Mary
to George Bredyman for life. (fn. 29) Queen Mary, however,
died seised of the manor, which then passed to Queen
Elizabeth, who in 1563 bestowed it on John Lee and
Thomas Julyan, and the heirs of the former. (fn. 30) Thomas
Julyan died soon after, and John Lee, becoming sole
tenant, sold the grange of Pulloxhill to Sir Thomas
Cheyney and Lady Jane his wife in 1566. (fn. 31) The
latter were called upon by the queen to justify their
title in 1567, and apparently made good their claim. (fn. 32)
The manor was in the queen's hands, however, by
1595, (fn. 33) and in 1601 was granted to Peter Page and
Edmund Pigeon. (fn. 34) Matthew Page, evidently a relation, in 1623 conveyed the reversion of the manors
after the death of John Page to Richard Norton, (fn. 35)
who alienated them in 1626 to Peter Duckett. (fn. 36)
From him they probably passed to Noah Duckett,
who may have been a brother, and through the latter's
daughter Anne to her husband Sir William Briers, (fn. 37)
who held them in 1643. (fn. 38) On his death in 1653
there was a division of the manors, a moiety being
settled on Arabella his second
wife as her dower, and the
other moiety passing to Briers
Crofts, his heiress. It is probable that the latter was his
niece, and that her mother
Anne Briers was his sister. (fn. 39)
Briers Crofts' husband, Sir John
Crofts of Westow, Suffolk,
united with Arabella Briers in
1660 to convey the whole
manor to Sir Henry Crofts, (fn. 40)
probably as a trustee, for in
1665, after the death of her
husband, Briers Crofts united
with his relatives to convey the manors to Thomas
Neale, (fn. 41) who in 1673 sold them to Sir John Norton
and John Garrard. (fn. 42) From Sir John Norton they probably passed to his relatives, the Coppins of Markyate,
who held the advowson between 1686 and 1710, and
were conveyed, together with the advowson, to the duke
of Kent by John Coppin between 1710 and 1716.
The duke of Kent is mentioned as the chief landowner
in Pulloxhill in 1736, (fn. 43) and from him the manors
descended to his great-granddaughter Lady Amabel,
baroness Lucas, (fn. 44) and have remained in the de Grey
family since that date, the manorial rights now being
vested in Lord Lucas and Dingwall. The manors
appear to have been amalgamated in the process, and
are now known as the manor of Pulloxhill and
Greenfield.
Crofts. Quarterly fessewise indented azure and argent with a leopard or in the quarter.
The manor of BEECHES or UPBURY, which
appears for the first time after the Dissolution, probably
originated in the estate held by Dunstable Priory in
Pulloxhill of the barony of Cainho. This estate can
be traced back to the Domesday manor of Pulloxhill, (fn. 45)
part of the lands of which were acquired by Woburn,
part by Dunstable, the rest being held by William de
Faldho, the Buniun family (fn. 46) and the prior of St. John of
Jerusalem. The amount of the priory's holding was 5 hides
in 1285, (fn. 47) and the land was apparently leased by the priory to
the Pyrot family, for it became
known as the Pyrot fee, (fn. 48) and
c. 1240 William Pyrot was
stated to be one of the lords of
Pulloxhill, holding, with William de Faldho, one fee. (fn. 49) The
priory's holding had diminished
to 2¼ hides in 1302, (fn. 50) at which
it remained in 1316, 1346,
and in 1428. (fn. 51) The priory in
1323 was granted free warren
in its demesne lands of Pulloxhill (fn. 52) and justified its claim
in 1330 by a production of this charter. (fn. 53) The
lands were worth £2 10s. 5d. in 1342, (fn. 54) but the
value of the manor had risen to £4 6s. 8d. in
1535. (fn. 55) At the Dissolution the manor was taken
into the king's hand and was by him probably granted
to Simon Fitz, who died seised of the manor in
1543; (fn. 56) his eldest son William inherited the manor,
but died in 1545 without issue, when it descended
to his brother Simon, (fn. 57) who had already come into
possession of the manor of Bilkemore. The descent
of the manor from this date until the early years
of the reign of Elizabeth is similar to that of
the manor of Blundells in Silsoe in the parish of
Flitton (q.v.). In 1552 mention is first made of the
manor of Upbury in connexion with that of Beeches. (fn. 58)
Its origin is not known, but it is invariably mentioned
afterwards in conjunction with Beeches manor.
Dunstable Priory. Argent a pile sable with a horseshoe or affixed to it by a staple or.
Thomas Morgan, who acquired the manors of
Bilkemore, Beeches, and Blundells in Silsoe (q.v.),
settled the manors of Beeches and Upbury on George
Fitz, alias Wharton, in 1567, (fn. 59) on the occasion of the
latter's marriage with Ann, the eldest daughter of
Peter Duckett. George Fitz died in 1608, (fn. 60) but
before his death he made a settlement of the manors
to his own use for life, and after his death to the use
of his niece Ánn Briers, wife of Sir William Briers,
and her heirs, and then to the use of George Wharton. The manors then followed the same descent as
the manors of Pulloxhill and Greenfield (q.v.). The
last mention of them occurs in 1700, when John
Coppin was lord. (fn. 61) They were probably sold by him
to the duke of Kent at the same time that the latter
acquired the manors of Pulloxhill and Greenfield
and the advowson of Pulloxhill Church, and as no
separate mention of them again occurs they were
probably merged in the larger manors of Pulloxhill
and Greenfield. The name of Upbury, however,
still survives in Upbury Moat, which marks the site
where the manor-house formerly stood.
Another estate in Pulloxhill, which towards the end
of the thirteenth century became known as the manor
of KITCHEN, originated in the land held in 1284
by Richard Wiscard of the abbot of St. Albans. (fn. 62) At
the Dissolution the overlordship passed to the crown,
and was afterwards attached to the manor of the
Rectory, of which the manor of Kitchen was held in
1608. (fn. 63)
In 1284, Richard Wiscard held 1 hide of the
abbot, and this estate, which was of the same extent
in 1362 and 1486, (fn. 64) was known in 1295 as the manor
of Kitchen. (fn. 65) In that year it was alienated by Richard
Wiscard to Master John de Lacy, from whom it
passed to Robert de Hakeneye and Katherine his wife,
who in 1329 conveyed it to Robert de Bilkemore and
Anastasia his wife, (fn. 66) the manor subsequently being
known by the name of Bilkemore or Kitchens. In
1348 Robert and Anastasia conveyed the manor to
David son of Bartholomew de Flitwick to their own
use for life, with remainder after their deaths to Sir
John de Lylebone, Sibyl his wife, and their heirs. (fn. 67)
Robert de Bilkemore was dead by 1361, (fn. 68) and the
manor passed to Sir John de Lylebone, who settled
it on Henry Pyres and his heirs in 1383. (fn. 69)
The claim of the Bilkemore family was renewed
by William Snowe, grandson of Matilda sister of
Robert de Bilkemore, in 1431, who on these grounds
recovered the manor from William Ryman, who by
some means had acquired possession of it. (fn. 70) Laurence
Snowe, probably a son of William, sold the manor in
1541 to Simon Fitz, (fn. 71) who died seised of it in 1543. (fn. 72)
From this date its descent is identical with that of the
manor of Blundells in Silsoe in the parish of Flitton
(q.v.). When in the early years of the reign of
Elizabeth, Thomas Sterne and Susan his wife, one of
the four daughters and heirs of Simon Fitz, brought
an action in Chancery against the tenants of the
manor on account of their failure to pay rent, it was
stated that Roger Pott had occupied part of the manor,
and that on his death it had descended to his son
John, then aged six, and in the custody of his mother
Katherine, who had married for the second time
William Dodd. The latter had an interest in this
part of the manor for a certain number of years, but
the reversion belonged to John Pott, (fn. 73) who was holding in 1590, and who in that same year alienated his
share of the manor to Thomas Johnson, (fn. 74) who married
his daughter Mary. (fn. 75) Of this portion no further
trace has been found. The other half of the manor,
occupied by John Man when the proceedings were
instituted, was in 1590 held by John Man and John
Godfrey. (fn. 76) The latter's daughter Frances married
William Newton, (fn. 77) and she and her husband in 1608
conveyed the half to Edmund Crouche and others, (fn. 78)
probably a preliminary to selling it to George Fitz,
who in that year made a settlement of the half manor
purchased from William Newton and John Man to
his own use for life, and then to the use of Anne
Briers, wife of Sir William Briers and niece of George
Fitz, and in default of issue to George Wharton.
Shortly after in the same year George Fitz died
seised of the half manor, (fn. 79) and there is no further
mention of the manor of Bilkemore. It probably
passed with the manors of Greenfield and Pulloxhill
(q.v.), in which it was subsequently merged, to the Croft
family, and was conveyed with them to Thomas
Neale. The name still survives in Kitchen End Farm.
The manor of the RECTORY of Pulloxhill
apparently belonged to Dunstable Priory before the
Dissolution, and was taken into the hand of the king
when the priory was dissolved. In 1550 the Rectory
manor was the subject of a dispute between Thomas
Kent and John Robbins, (fn. 80) the former alleging that
the premises had been leased to his father, Thomas
Kent, by the priory. A former dispute was mentioned
which had been settled by the arrangement that John
Robbins was to occupy the premises for the term of
his life, paying the plaintiff £115. In the reign of
Elizabeth the matter was again the cause of a quarrel.
It was then said that Edward VI had granted the
manor to Robert Brocas of Horton, and that Thomas
Kent had conveyed his interest to John Robbins, the
father of John Robbins now pleading. John Robbins
was to purchase the reversion in fee of the lease of
the manor from Robert Brocas for £260, which was
paid, whereupon Bernard Brocas, son and heir of
Robert, refused to assure the reversion to John
Robbins. (fn. 81)
The manor is next found in the hands of Richard
Page, who conveyed it to William Briers in 1623; (fn. 82)
a moiety passed to Briers Crofts, heiress of Sir William
Briers, on the death of the latter in 1653, (fn. 83) while the
other moiety was retained by Arabella, widow of
Sir William, as her dower. The manor then followed
a descent identical with that of the manors of Pulloxhill
and Greenfield, and was probably sold to the duke of
Kent between 1710 and 1716 by John Coppin.
The manorial rights are vested at the present day in
Lord Lucas and Dingwall, a descendant of the duke
of Kent.
In the thirteenth century William de Faldho held
land in Pulloxhill under the lordship of Aimery of
St. Amand, to whom the barony of Cainhoe had
passed by intermarriage with the de Albinis. This
holding is described as 1 hide when it is first mentioned in 1286, (fn. 84) and the same property was probably
included in the knight's fee held by him jointly with
William Pyrot c. 1240. (fn. 85) Matilda, one of the heirs
of Faldho, married Walter de la Haye, who held the
property until his death in 1295, when, in the absence
of any claim on the part of his heirs, some unnamed
heirs of William de Faldho entered into the property (fn. 86)
and held it in 1302. (fn. 87) William son of William de
Keynes of Faldho died seised of it in 1336, when it
passed to his aunts, Christina, Emma, Margery, and
Alice. (fn. 88) Robert de Wodemancote, the husband of
Emma, and Simon Drye held in 1346 the hide which
the heirs of William de Faldho formerly held. (fn. 89) After
this date there is no further mention of the holding,
which was probably absorbed in one of the manors in
Pulloxhill.
The prior of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem
also held land in Pulloxhill of Aimery of St. Amand.
In 1284 William de Bray, Richard Wiscard, and
Robert son of Sampson were holding 1 hide from the
prior, (fn. 90) and in 1286 the prior claimed view of frankpledge over his nine tenants in Pulloxhill. (fn. 91) In 1302
and in 1346 the prior and his tenants were still holding 1 hide. (fn. 92) In 1540, when Sir Richard Longe was
granted the lordship of Shyngay, he was also given the
possession of the Knights Hospitallers in many places,
and acquired their land in Pulloxhill; (fn. 93) after which
no further trace of the holding can be found.
There was a capital messuage and farm in Pulloxhill
which in the reign of Elizabeth was the subject of a
dispute between Reginald Callopp and Henry Steven
and Thomas Kinge. (fn. 94) The former claimed the capital
messuage and farm called Pulloxhill in Flitton and
Pulloxhill by royal grant; probably he gained his
cause, as on his death in 1590 he left lands in Pulloxhill to his sons Reginald and Thomas. (fn. 95) The latter
probably conveyed the land to John Page, who settled
the capital messuage and farm on his son Richard
on the occasion of his marriage with Frances, daughter
of Robert Mudge, in 1594. (fn. 96) Richard in 1623 conveyed a messuage, dovecote, garden, and orchard, &c.,
to William Beamont; (fn. 97) and John Page, the father,
died the next year seised of the capital messuage and
farm in Pulloxhill in which Robert Beamont lately
lived. (fn. 98) There is no further trace of this capital
messuage and farm.
Church
The church of ST. JAMES has a
chancel 30 ft. by 18 ft. 3 in., a nave
55 ft. by 25 ft. 4in. with a western
gallery, and a western tower which is used as a porch.
It is recorded that the church was dedicated in 1219
by Robert of Lismore, but as the greater part of the
old building, after falling into a ruinous condition, was
taken down in 1846 and rebuilt, it only remains to
us to deplore the loss of what might have been a
valuable dated example of thirteenth-century work.
Previous to the rebuilding, the nave had entirely
disappeared, the chancel and a ruined west tower
alone remaining. The whole of the present nave is
therefore modern, up to and including the chancel
arch, and the same may be said of the tower, which
was rebuilt at the same time, partly with the old
materials; the old chancel also lost some ten feet of
its west end at the time. As it stands to-day, the
chancel has a three-light east window with tracery, of
mid-fourteenth-century detail, flanked by two plain
niches which have been partly filled up and appear to
have been included in the 'restoration.' In the
north wall is a fifteenth-century window of two
trefoiled lights under a four-centred head, and in the
south wall are two similar windows of three lights.
The second of these has had its two western lights
blocked by the shortening of the chancel, and from
the inside appears as a single-light window.
There are also traces in the external masonry on both
sides of the chancel of windows of an earlier date.
The chancel arch is modern, of two chamfered orders
with fourteenth-century detail. On either side of the
nave are three two-light windows with flowing tracery
of fourteenth-century style, and there are also two
small square-headed single-light windows, one to the
gallery and one to the vestry beneath, which appear
to be sixteenth-century work re-used.
The tower is of three stages with an embattled
parapet and angle buttresses, and has in the ground
stage a circular west window of fourteenth-century
detail, and below it a west doorway which is the
main entrance to the church.
Against the north wall of the chancel is a monument to Sir William Briers, 1653, and his two wives
Anne (Duckett) and Arabella (Crofts), set up by the
last named; there is also a brass to Dame Anne
Briers, 1631. On the south wall of the chancel is
another brass to George Fitzroy, 1608, and Anne
his wife. Partly covered by the organ is a third
brass with the kneeling figure of an armed man of
seventeenth-century style, the rest of the plate and
the inscription being hidden. The font, on the south
side of the nave, is modern.
There is one bell cast by William Mears in 1800.
The church plate consists of a communion cup and
paten and chalice of 1700, a small salver of 1808, and
a modern plated flagon.
The first book of the registers contains the baptisms
from 1553, and marriages and burials from 1558, all
entries running to 1653, from which date they are
continued in the second book to 1685. The third
book begins in 1706, and the fourth is the printed
marriage register from 1754.
Advowson
Dunstable Priory held the advowson and rectory of Pulloxhill until
the Dissolution, but shortly after that
date the rectory became divided, part following a
descent analagous to that of the advowson, while the
other part had a different history, and finally lapsed
among the many alienations of tithes which took
place in the seventeenth century. Pulloxhill Church
appears to have been given to Dunstable Priory in
the twelfth century together with Harlington Church
by John and William Pyrot, (fn. 99) from which date it
continued in the possession of the priory, although its
tenure was marked by a series of disputes, in all of
which the priory was successful. The first of these
took place in the twelfth century between the priory
and Elstow Abbey, and it was settled by the bishop of
Ely by the mandate of Alexander III. (fn. 100) In 1210
a moiety of the church was disputed with Henry
Buniun. (fn. 101) In 1204 a vicarage was ordained in
Pulloxhill Church by William bishop of Lincoln, (fn. 102)
and the church was dedicated in honour of
St. James in 1220 by Robert, bishop of Lismore. (fn. 103)
The priory was not left long in undisturbed possession,
for, in 1262, William Pyrot contested the claim of
the abbot to the advowson. Ralf Pyrot had presented
Henry de Borham to the church against the will of
the priory, and William maintained that the abbey
had no claim to the presentation except by the gift of
John Pyrot his grandfather, who claimed it by right
of his wife; (fn. 104) he was unable however to despoil the
priory. In 1291, the church of Pulloxhill was
assessed at £5 6s. 8d., (fn. 105) and in 1535 the vicarage was
assessed at £9 10s. (fn. 106) At the Dissolution the church
and rectory, which was then worth £21 6s. 8d., (fn. 107)
were taken into the hand of the king, and were
granted first to Thomas Wye, and afterwards, in 1549,
to James Rogers and Richard Veale. (fn. 108) In the following year, 1550, a dispute between Thomas Kent
and John Robbins, in which Thomas Kent declared
that the parsonage had been leased to his father by
Dunstable Priory, (fn. 109) was settled in favour of John
Robbins, who was owner of the advowson in 1554. (fn. 110)
About this date also the rectory was involved in a
dispute between John Robbins, Christian Barber,
and the master and fellows of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, the latter alleging that John Robbins had sold
them the rectory and tithes, while Christian declared
that they had been sold by John Robbins in 1553 to
her late husband William Barber for fifteen years, and
that the term had not then expired. (fn. 111) The matter
was evidently settled by a compromise, for Christian
obtained a moiety of the rectory, which remained in
the Barber family for many years, following a descent
distinct from that of the advowson. The other moiety,
instead of remaining in the possession of Trinity Hall,
passed by some means, together with the advowson,
into the hands of John Page, who was holding them
in 1605. (fn. 112) Richard Page, evidently his son, in
1612 made a settlement of the advowson and the
moiety of the rectory, (fn. 113) and in 1623 conveyed the
reversions to William, afterwards Sir William Briers, (fn. 114)
who entered into possession on the death of John
Page in the following year. (fn. 115) The advowson and
this moiety of the rectory then followed the same
descent as the manors of Pulloxhill and Greenfield
(q.v.), passing from Sir John Norton to his relations,
the Coppins of Markyate, Hertfordshire, who held
them from 1686 to 1710; (fn. 116) between 1710 and
1716 they were probably sold by John Coppin to the
duke of Kent, who was patron at the latter date. (fn. 117)
They have since been vested in the family of the
de Greys, the Hon. Philip Yorke, who married the
duke's daughter, being patron in 1742 and 1786; (fn. 118)
in 1792 Lady Grey presented to the church, and in
1799 Lady Amabel Grey, Baroness Lucas, her
daughter. (fn. 119) The advowson has since then descended to Lord Lucas and Dingwall, the present
patron. (fn. 120)
The other moiety of the rectory which was obtained
by Christian Barber about the middle of the sixteenth
century remained in the possession of the Barber
family for over a hundred years. (fn. 121) In 1665 it was
alienated to Thomas Neale by Thomas Barber and
his wife Anne, (fn. 122) and was held by the former and his
wife Elizabeth, with the other moiety, until 1673.
At this date a part of the moiety was alienated to
Nicholas Crouch, and another part to Edward
Pennefather, the latter afterwards conveying his
rights to Nicholas Crouch, (fn. 123) who thus came
into possession of one moiety, which in 1687 he
sold to Thomas Halfpenny. (fn. 124) The rectorial tithes
were leased in the eighteenth century to various
people, (fn. 125) and nothing further is heard of this
moiety.
In the reign of Elizabeth there was a dispute between George Rotherham and Annand Isaac Rotherham,
the former claiming by descent lands given for the
maintenance of lights in sundry churches in the parish
of Pulloxhill, granted by Queen Mary to George
Rotherham, the plaintiff's grandfather. (fn. 126) John Rotherham, evidently an ancestor of George, above mentioned, and John Acworth founded the fraternity of
Luton for two chaplains to sing daily in the parish
church of Luton at the altar of the chapel of the
Holy Trinity for the souls of Edward IV and his queen
and the good estate of the brethren of the fraternity.
They endowed the chantry with certain lands in Pulloxhill; one acre of meadow lying in Diversmeade in the
tenure of the vicar of Pulloxhill, worth 10d. per annum,
was given towards a bead roll. The fine of one acre
called the Lampe Acre in the tenure of William King,
worth 12d. per annum, was given for the maintenance
of a lamp, and the fine of one other acre of land worth
12d. per annum for a light. (fn. 127) There is a Baptist
chapel at Pulloxhill.
Charities
Unknown donor's charities formerly consisted of an annual payment
of 10s. issuing out of a cottage and
two acres situate in the parish, and another annuity of
10s. which was understood to have arisen out of an
ancient donation of £10 by George Fitz. One annuity
of 10s. only is now paid under the title of Gibbs's
Charity, being received from Mr. Henry Tretheny, of
Ampthill.